Rope fenders for boats



Sept. 22, 1959 E. DENEND ET AL 2,905,129

ROPE FENDERS FOR BOATS F-iled April 5, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet l LOWELL E. DENEND KENNETH C. SCHROEDER INVENTOR.

Sept. 22, 1959 L. E. DENEND ET AL ROPE FENDERS FOR BOATS 4 SheetsSheet 2 Filed April 5, 1956 LowELL E. DENEND KENNETH c. SCHROEDER IN VE N TORS i 22,1959 E. DENEND ET AL 2,905,129

ROPE FENDERS FOR BOATS Filed. April 5, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 LOWELL E. DENEND KENNETH C. SCHROEDER INVENTOR.

MYML

Sept. 22, 1959 LOWELL E. DENEND KENNETH C. SCHROEDER INVENTOR.

ROPE FENDERS FOR BOATS Lowell E. Denend and Kenneth C. Schroeder, Seattle, Wash, assignors to Thilbum E. Parr, Seattle, Wash.

Application April 5, 1956, Serial No. 576,295

6 Claims. (Cl. 114-219) This present invention relates to the general art of resilient fenders or bumpers of the type used on boats. More particularly, this invention relates to fenders for use on boats which are woven or plaited or braided from ropes or rope-like materials, and which differ from the ordinary braided bumper in that the knotting or forming of the different strands is based upon a looped back arrangement, to the end that the bumpers can be folded at any point throughout their length and bent around a right angle. The particular structure enrbodied in this invention is such that the bumper can be folded as, for instance, over the top of a deck or guard rail of a small boat, and extend down the side so as to protect the small boat, particularly from larger boats which might have guard rails or fenders or fender rails which in a wave action might tend to overlie and come down upon the smaller boat. This is a very outstanding characteristic of this present bumper and one that has not been noted in any of the large number of fenders that have been studied. In the average fender which may be made of a wide variety of materials it usually results in an elongated fender arrangement that is either an enclosing covering with a resilient filling or a woven fender in which the rope or cord-like strands are laid up in a long-lay fashion, and this precludes in these various types of fenders any ability to bend the same intermediate their ends and have them stay in this bent position.

A principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a boat fender made of rope-like material which is so formed that the fender can be bent intermediate its ends and will tend to stay in that bent position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a boat fender formed of rope-like material in which each loop of the rope, as the fender is being made, is a very pronounced U shape and in which the plane of the U is at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the fender.

A further object of the present invention provides a bumper manufactured from rope or rope-like material and in which a securing and supporting eye member of rope of increased diameter is inserted into the upper portion of the bumper and clamped or secured to the various strands making up the bumper itself.

A further object of this invention is to produce a boat fender formed of strands of material so that a symmetrical pattern is formed for each half of the rope as considered in cross-section at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the fender.

A further object of this invention is to provide a boat fender formed of rope-like material in which each quarter of a cross-section of the rope of the fender, as viewed along the longitudinal axis of the fender, will present the edge view of U-shaped turns to the end that natural hinge points are provided along each diameter of the fender so that a hinge line is provided in two directions.

A further object of this invention is to provide a rope fender for boats wherein a plurality of ropes are joined at their midpoints, which represents the bottom of a States Patent "ice fender, and are then woven into a fender with the free ends of the ropes meeting at the top of the fender where they are bound together so the ends will be securely held.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an illustrative view of a power cruiser showing the use of two of our improved fenders.

Figure 2 illustrates one desirable use of our fender as employed on the sheer line of a boat and showing the same as against a wall such as a wall of a canal-locks, for instance.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view illustrating the top of one of our fenders and showing the manner in which the top is secured to prevent the strands loosing up, and also showing protective means so that, if the securing means is metal, the boats using the fenders will be adequately protected from the same.

Figure 4 is a vertical diagrammatic view as though in section form, illustrating a very desirable use of our fender.

In Figure 5 we have illustrated a fender which is made from two ropes which are bent back on each other at their midpoints and woven into the structure. This gives a relatively simple form of fender and, as present experience indicates, is suitable for use wherever small fenders are permissible.

Figure 6 illustrates the ease with which our fender can be bent around a right angle turn and illustrates the distortion of the rope loops which makes this possible.

Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 are views illustrating the ap-v pearance of our fender sequentially from the first start of the plaiting operation through the first four turns.

Figure 11 is a perspective view illustrating the initial steps in finishing the upper end of our fender in What we believe to be the preferred manner.

Figure 12 is a perspective view illustrating a fender made from six pieces of rope, which in turn makes each weaving unit three ropes.

Figure 13 is a view, partly in section, of the upper end of a fender and illustrates the next sequential step from that illustrated in Figure 11.

Figure 14 illustrates, partly in section, the final positioning of the various members forming the upper end of our fender.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a rope fender made under the teachings of this present invention. This fender or bumper is so plaited or wovenof rope or ropelike materials that it can be folded around a right angle at almost any point throughout its length and may be folded either way from two diameters which are normal to each other. The ability of the fender to be folded makes it possible for the same to be folded over a corner which it is desired to protect. Typical uses are shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4. In Figure 2 the fender is secured as to the ring fitting 12 on the top side of the boat with the upper portion of the fender protecting the top surface or rail 14 and the lower portion being disposed downwardly, protects the face of the rail as 16 and the hull of the boat as 18.

In Figure 1 the fenders are shown as they may be carried when it is anticipated that the need for fenders may arise, such as in coming alongside of another boat or the like. Figure 4 shows a particularly useful mode of using our fender, such as so often occurs when boats of different sizes meet under roughened water conditions. Such conditions often exist where boats are rafted up in an endeavor to effect economy of landing space, and

. also occurs when boats are passing through ships canal-- locks and the like. In this showing it will be noted that the smaller boat 20' has one of the fenders secured to it, after the showing of Figure 2 but, instead of abutting a wall- W as in Figure 2, it serves to provide a distance of spacing means from a larger boat as 22. Now, the larger the boat the longer is its period of movement in roughwater and, further, its very size makes it an item of real danger to the smaller boats that come alongside of it. Our improved fenders solve a problem here that, to our knowledge, has not been possible to solve by any other type of fender we have observed; and, in fact, it is solved much better than it can be solved by a plurality of converitional fenders. o

Referring to Figure 4, the fender protects the rail 14, as it did in the showing of Figure], but, additionally it spaces boat away from boat and also, as the fender is normally larger than any overhanging ledge as 24 of the larger boat, it provides a buffer so that the overlying shear rail of the larger boat cannot physically come in contact with the rail 14 of the smaller boat, as it might if either the smaller boat was raised in a wave action or the larger boat lowered by wave action while the other boat was less affected.

The effectiveness and adaptability of our fender resides in the unusual manner in which the fender itself is formed. Probably the best understanding of the man ner of plaiting our fender is shown sequentially in Figtires 7 through 11. To facilitate clarity in nomenclature the opposite ends of the rope or plurality of ropes forming the extreme bottom end of the fender are referred to as first end and second end and given the designation of I and II respectively in Figures 7-10 of the drawings.

- Similarly the opposite ends of the rope or plurality of ropes overlying the bottom end rope or plurality of ropes are referred to as third end and fourth end and given the Roman numeral designations of III and IV respectively in the drawings. InFigure 7 a plurality of strands as 30, 31 and 32 are disposed in parallel relationship and intersecting them at their midpoints are the portions as 34, 35 and 36 of other ropes or strands of rope-like material. Throughout these figures we have illustrated the construction of the fender as being made of two sets of three ropes. However, this is not a necessary arrangement, as fenders can be formed from one strand in one direction and one in the other, or it may have two or three or four or possibly more ropes or rope-like strands which are then woven together. In the weaving action the rope groups 30, 31 and 32 are handled as though they were merely a single fiat rope, and the same is true of ropes 34, 35 and 36. In Figure 7 the loop of the first end has been formed. In Figure 8 each of the sets of strands or ropes has been given the second bend so that the U-shaped bends as 38 and are produced. In Figure 9 one additional bend has been made, producing additional U-shaped bend members. In Figure 10 one more bend of the weaving has been completed by making the loop of the fourth end and thus completing one round of plaiting. Additional rounds of plaiting are executed in a like manner until the desired length of fender is formed. In Figure 10 probably is illustrated rather clearly the fact that in each successive bend the rope bundles as 30, 31 and 32 or 34, 3S and 36 are bent so that they are parallel to the other leg of the same ropes. In each successive round of plaiting the individual flat groups of ropes that are treated as a single element, are bent back on themselves so that they overlie the same rbpe in the course next before completed. When the fender is hung vertically this will place all the bends and connecting rope portions made by a single rope, in a common vertical plane. This method of plaiting will produce a square fender as shown throughout the acdorripa'nying drawings and quite clearly in Figure 11.

Referring back to Figure 7, in its beginning the weaving is started at the center of the ropes, and this start- 4. ing position, as illustrated in Figure 7, will become what is normally the bdffd'lfi end (if the fender.

In Figure 10 we have illustrated one other prominent factor involved in the successful employment of this form of fender, which is that two axes as AA and BB intersect at right angles at the center of the woven mass, and these axes provide the hinging lines upon which the bumpers are folded. Now, as each successive fold of the ropes provides additional folding axes, it then becomes relatively simple to fold the fender and have a portion of the curvature takenup by eachof these various axes which are parallel to each other. In any folding arrangement the folds would be along either the axis AA or the axis BB.

Figure 6 is believed to give a fair representation of a fender that has been folded around a or right angle bend such as would be presented by the deck line of a boat, for instance. In this figure it will be noted that the turns at the longitudinal axis of the fender are of normal size, and then we find that the bends that are on the outer radius are stretched and the innermost ones compressed.

A study of Figures 7 through 10, it is believed, will make it clear how these distortions can be made without actually any major displacement of the rope turns, to the end that, when straightened out again, they will maintain the straight form with the compression and stretching of the rope turns brought back to normal.

In Figure 11 we have illustrated the manner in which the upper end of the fender is finished in our preferred arrangement. This consists of trimming off the various ends of ropes 30, 31, 32 and 34, 35, 36 to a common plane and inserting within the circle formed by these rope ends the hanging eye 44, which is simply a rope bent back on itself, preferably of increased size over the rope forming the fender. This need only extend down to where the crossover bight of the line as 46 occur. Around loop 44 is passed the preferably rubber tubing 48 of a length normally about equal to the diameter of the fender. The tubing, however, must extend down into the circle formed by the rope ends, at least to the extent covered by the encircling metal band 50. The metal band, which is of a type where considerable pressure can be applied to it normally by tong compression means, is then tightened, thus securing the loop 44 well within the circle of the rope ends, and also securing the lower end of the rubber tube 48. Rubber tube 48 is then folded over, as indicated at 52 in Figures 5 and 14, to provide a neat finish which covers the cut rope ends and, of still greater importance, covers the metal band 50 so that no part of it or the keeper member 54 will be exposed where it might tend to scratch the face of the boats on which it is used.

In Figure 3, which is a fragmentary view illustrating a modified form for the upper end of a bumper and which is shown partly in section, we have employed a soft rubber member as the ball-shaped element 60. This ballshaped member is preferably preformed so as to provide a relatively small passageway as 62 for the rope loop 44, and then an enlarged bore as 64 with a connecting conical portion as 65. A ball of this order, when slipped over loop 44, serves to fully mask the upper end of the fender and to provide an additional resilient member, which oftentimes is very desirable when the fender is hanging on the side surface of a boat, for instance, in that itkeeps the bumper normally away from the boat finish until it is needed in use, at which time it will of course be compressed against the side of the boat. This form of ball fitting serves adequately to mask almost any form of metal clamping means, indicated at 66.

In Figure 5 the very simplest form of fender is shown, in that it is formed of two ropes which are crossed at their midpoint and then Woven after the form shown in Figures 7 through 10. However, in viewing those figures, one should trace out only the center rope of each group of three. As this form lends itself best to the rather expensive and smaller fenders, it has been found that a considerable useful life can be expected from seizing the upper end as at 70. If this seizing is done with the rope and the twine all dry, then under normal conditions of use this construction works very satisfactorily to hold all the elements tightly in their preferred positions. With this form the rubber tube 52 is probably the most satisfactory way of completing the unit. An additional use of our fender is shown in Figure 1, wherein one or more fenders is bent around the stem of the boat in order to protect the same during maneuvering of the boat near other boats or fixed installations.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of rope fenders for boats.

Having thus disclosed our invention, we claim:

1. A fender for boats comprising: a plaited structure of continuous ropes folded at their midpoints to form the bottom end of the fender when the fender is put into normal use, one rope crossing another at right angles, the opposite ends of the rope at the extreme bottom end of the fender forming the first and second ends and the rope overlying the bottom end rope at its opposite ends forming the third and fourth ends, the free ends of the ropes plaited by bending the ends back on themselves and overlying the ropes of opposite orientation and tucking the fourth end through the loop of the first end to complete one round of plaiting, similarly formed additional rounds of plaiting in which all the bends of any one rope, excepting the bottom bend will be in the same vertical plane, as the fender hangs in normal use, and a hanging loop, secured to the rope ends, completing the upper end of the fender.

2. A fender for boats comprising: a plaited structure of continuous ropes folded at their midpoints to form the bottom end of the fender when the fender is put into normal use, a plurality of parallel associated ropes crossing a second similar group of ropes at right angles, the opposite ends of the ropes at the extreme bottom end of the fender forming the first and second ends and the ropes overlying the bottom end ropes at its opposite ends forming the third and fourth ends, the free ends of the ropes plaited by bending the ends back on themselves and overlying the ropes of opposite orientation and tucking the fourth e'nd through the loop of the first end to complete one round of plaiting, similarly formed additional rounds of plaiting in which all the bends of any one rope, excepting the bottom bend, will be in the same vertical plane and have the longitudinal axis of the bends horizontally disposed, as the fender hangs in normal use, and a hanging loop, secured to the rope ends, completing the upper end of the fender.

3. The subject matter of claim 2 in which the means for hanging the fender comprises a loop having its free ends encircled by the upwardly directed rope ends, as

the fender hangs in normal use, and binding means surrounding the rope ends and compressing them and the free ends of the loop into a supporting means for the fender.

4. The subject matter of claim 2 in which the means for hanging the fender is secured to the fender by a compressing means and a resilient and waterproof cover which is provided to cover any protruding elements of said binding and to protect the upper ends of the ropes forming said fender.

5. A fender for boats comprising: a plaited structure of continuous ropes folded at their midpoints to form the bottom end of the fender when the fender is put into normal use, one rope crossing another at right angles, the opposite ends of the rope at the extreme bottom end of the fender forming the first and second ends and the rope overlying the bottom end rope at its opposite ends forming the third and fourth ends, the free ends of the ropes plaited by bending the ends back on themselves and overlying the ropes of opposite orientation and tucking the fourth end through the loop of the first end to complete one round of plaiting, similarly formed additional rounds of plaiting in which all the bends of any one rope, excepting the bottom bend, will be in the same vertical plane as the fender hangs in normal use and a hanging loop means securing said hanging loop to the fender top and a section of resilient waterproof tubing secured at its lower end in the circle of rope ends providing the upper end of the fender and then folded back on the means joining the hanging loop to the fender top and providing a protective cover for the rope ends of said ropes forming said fender.

6. A plaited fender for boats, comprising: two ropes which cross each other at right angles, at their mid points to form the lower end of the fender; successive bends made in each rope by folding the free ends inwardly to form loops; each loop encircling a rope end of opposite orientation to form a square fender; and each of said bends made by a single rope to lie in a common vertical plane when the fender is disposed with its longitudinal axis vertical.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,804,725 Walker May 12, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS 20,285 Great Britain Oct. 28, 1895 OTHER REFERENCES Graumont and Hensel: Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Wor pages 224-226, 440, 443, 529, and 530; Cornell Maritime Press, New York, N.Y.; 1945.

Graumont and Hensel: Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Work, pages 111, 113; Cornell Maritime Press, New York, N.Y., (1945). 

